Chapter Ten: Uproot the Weeds
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Left with no choice, Ximen Feixue could only endure the humiliation and sign his name.
Lu Qianqiu snorted coldly, snatched up the divorce agreement, and cast a glance at Ximen Feixue. A smug smile curled across her lips.
“I’m still the one who knows how to read the situation! Just look at you, such a coward. You’d better learn from your father. Keep your tail between your legs from now on, and you’ll save yourself the trouble of making a fool of yourself again.”
With that, she gave the signature a cursory glance before tucking the divorce agreement into her robes. Only then did she contentedly flick her sleeve.
“Hmph. Let today’s matter end here. But if the Ximen family dares provoke me again, or if even a single word detrimental to me gets out, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”
After delivering her threat, Lu Qianqiu led her guards away with great arrogance.
Once she had gone, Ximen Feixue dropped to his knees with a thud. Clutching his head in both hands, he let out muffled sobs that echoed through the room.
Ximen Zhenyue stood beside him, gently patting his son on the shoulder, his heart filled with grief.
In this world, strength had always been supreme.
Ximen Feixue clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He lifted his head and spoke each word with unshakable resolve.
“Father, uncles, brothers—I cannot swallow this humiliation! I’ve heard that there was once a mighty expert on Heaven-Reaching Peak, a figure whose bearing was unmatched in his age and whose abilities reached the heavens and penetrated the earth. I’m going to Heaven-Reaching Peak to seek him as my master and learn his arts. Once I’ve mastered them and returned, I’ll make the Lu family pay for what happened today!”
The moment he finished speaking, the room erupted. Relatives and friends crowded around him, all trying to dissuade him at once.
“Feixue, don’t be impulsive!”
His paternal uncle frowned, his face full of concern as he stepped forward and seized Ximen Feixue by the arm.
“The current master of Heaven-Reaching Peak is named Ye Xinghe, and he’s infamous for being a good-for-nothing! It’s true that a mighty expert once emerged from that peak, but times have changed, and everything is different now. You’ll only make a wasted trip and delay your own future.”
“Exactly, exactly!”
His cousin chimed in from the side, shaking his head repeatedly.
“When I was traveling outside, I heard no end of people discussing Ye Xinghe. They said he occupies Heaven-Reaching Peak’s resources yet has accomplished nothing, that his cultivation has remained stagnant for years, and that he cannot even manage his own disciples. The other peak masters constantly suppress, mock, and ridicule him. What could you possibly learn by following him?”
Yet Ximen Feixue’s eyes held a stubborn light.
“Elders, relatives, and friends, I know you’re saying this for my sake, but rumors are not necessarily true! This world is full of people deceived by appearances. Others call him a good-for-nothing, but how do we know that isn’t slander born of jealousy? Or perhaps they simply have never witnessed the methods he keeps hidden?”
“He has managed to sit in such a position until today. If he truly had no ability, how could he have endured this long?”
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Even so, it was all based on hearsay.
An elderly member of the clan coughed softly before speaking in a slow voice.
“Child, our Ximen family is in a difficult position now. We can no longer afford to take unnecessary risks. You are one of the family’s few remaining hopes. If you waste the best years of your life at Heaven-Reaching Peak and miss out on other opportunities, the family’s revival will become even more distant.”
Ximen Feixue was slightly stunned. He looked toward the dilapidated courtyard and the sorrowful faces of his family members, a bitter ache rising in his heart. Yet the flames of vengeance within him burned all the more fiercely.
No matter what, he could not swallow the humiliation he had suffered today.
“Grandfather, I understand the difficulties facing our family. That is precisely why I must risk everything! At ordinary sects, peak masters pay close attention to a disciple’s background and resources when accepting apprentices. With the Ximen family fallen into ruin, what worthwhile place would be willing to take me in? Heaven-Reaching Peak once produced a mighty expert. Even if there is only the slimmest chance, I must give it a try! If I remain trapped where I am, I truly will never have a chance to rise.”
The others were about to continue persuading him, but Ximen Feixue’s mind was made up. With a thud, he fell to his knees and solemnly kowtowed three times to his father, Ximen Zhenyue.
“Father, your son is unfilial. I know the family needs me to share its burdens at this moment, yet I still insist on going my own way. But please believe me. I will not betray the family’s hopes on this journey. I will reclaim our honor and restore the Ximen family to its former glory!”
Ximen Zhenyue’s eyes reddened. He helped his son to his feet and let out a long sigh.
“Enough, enough. Since your mind is made up, your father will no longer stop you. Be careful while you’re away from home. If things prove impossible, return at once. Do not force yourself beyond your limits.”
Ximen Feixue had only just resolutely stepped out of the family residence, his heel not yet touching the ground, when an ear-piercing, wildly arrogant laugh suddenly tore across the sky.
“Hahahaha! Not a single member of the Ximen family will escape today! Every one of you is going to die!”
The voice carried an intense murderous intent that rolled toward them like thunder, making the scalps of everyone in the Ximen family prickle.
Ximen Feixue’s heart tightened. He spun around and saw a vast group of black-clad men charging from the end of the road like dark clouds bearing down upon the land.
The man at their head wore a black robe and had a tall, massive build. A savage scar twisted from the corner of his eye down to his chin, appearing even more terrifying beneath the sunlight. His eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty, eerie light, like a starving wolf that had locked onto its prey.
Surging spiritual energy roiled around his body in the form of black mist. Wherever he passed, the ground turned charred black and the vegetation withered. Clearly, he practiced a sinister and vicious cultivation art.
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“What do you want?” Ximen Feixue demanded furiously. At the same time, he secretly gathered his spiritual energy and stepped in front of his family, assuming a defensive stance.
The scar-faced man broke into another fit of wild laughter. When it abruptly ceased, he spoke coldly.
“You little brat. You’re already on the verge of death, yet you still dare ask who I am? I’ll tell you. I am Black Centipede, master of the Dark Fiend Hall under the Sima family. By order of Miss Lu Qianqiu, I’ve come to wipe out the Ximen family completely, so no threat remains to trouble the young lady in the future!”
The faces of everyone in the Ximen family instantly turned as pale as paper. Ximen Zhenyue staggered forward several steps, trembling with rage.
“The Sima family is truly vicious! Our Ximen family has already signed the divorce agreement and promised never to provoke her again. Why must you still exterminate us?”
Black Centipede sneered and curled his lips in disdain.
“Hmph. You think that little display of backbone just now was enough? Miss Lu said that leaving the Ximen family alive would ultimately be a variable. What if you somehow rise again one day? Wouldn’t that be a slap in her face? Better to uproot the weeds while we can and end the matter once and for all!”
Ximen Feixue’s eyes nearly split with fury as he roared, “Lu Qianqiu, you vicious woman! You’ve gone too far!”
With that, he struck first. His long sword sprang from its sheath with a ringing clang, brilliant spiritual light blazing along its blade as a fierce sword aura shot toward Black Centipede.
Black Centipede remained utterly unhurried. With a sweep of his palm, a vortex of black spiritual energy surged forth and effortlessly drew the sword aura inside, grinding it to pieces.
“You overestimate yourself. With those pitiful tricks of yours, you dare challenge me? Brothers, attack! Kill every last one of these Ximen family wretches!”
Black Centipede waved his hand. The black-clad men behind him surged forward like a tidal wave, instantly surrounding the members of the Ximen family.
Though the Ximen family’s disciples fought with all their strength, the disparity in power was simply too great. Every move made by the black-clad men was aimed at taking a life.
Before long, screams rang out without end and blood sprayed in every direction. One member of the Ximen family after another fell, their blood pouring into the earth and staining the ground before the residence crimson.
Meanwhile, at Heaven-Reaching Peak—
A system notification suddenly flashed through Ye Xinghe’s mind.
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